Not To Be Trusted With Knives - Latest Comments in Blog Posting From the Bus

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

Tod Maffin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:14:15 -0000

What? There was no actual value to the points?! I call shenanigans! (I've never actually called shenanigans before. Is that all I do? Will they come now?)

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

joeyconnick — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:36:53 -0000

Wow... proof that Twitter isn't as great as it thinks it is! Yay!

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

Beth — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:20:29 -0000

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Of course, technically this doesn't prove causation, as there's always the possibility that what looks like causation actually occurred by chance (which is why you will hear "p<0.05 = significant findings" - this means that there's less than a 5% chance that the findings occurred by chance. But at least with a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, you've manipulated one factor (A) and examined the effect on another factor (B). When all you have is that (A) is correlated with (B), how would you know if A causes B or B causes or A? (Or C causes both A and B)?

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

Raul — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:14:48 -0000

Holy smokes, Darren was fast!

On the research geeky side - What kind of data would you use to show causation? In the social sciences, causation is perhaps the toughest proof of them all, particularly because most explanations for specific phenomena are of a multiplicitous nature.

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

Beth — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:29:09 -0000

Nicely done! You answered that one in record time.

As for the points, I haven't actually decided what they are for. Sort of like that British comedy improv show (that, like most British shows, was later ripped off by the Americans), "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where "everything is made up and the points don't matter." I may someday figure out what the points are for, so make sure you keep them in a safe place!

Re: Blog Posting From the Bus

Darren — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:24:50 -0000

The tech-savvy, at-risk youth are the kids behind Dan Savage's most excellent podcast. And I've always wondered about them. I hope he puts them on the air at some point.

What can I obtain with my 25 points? A Kewpie doll?